Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

tourist thing and he was standing on a corner. He was…” Abigail paused, searching for the right word. “Incredible. Impressive. I looked at his shoulders first and then his eyes. I had to get his picture.” She exchanged a small smile with her aunt.
    “Of course you did, dear,” Carol said, pleased.
    Abigail’s smile widened at the memory. “I tried to get it without him seeing me, because I felt silly taking a stranger’s picture and I was doing it because he was just plain hot. Of course he noticed and he wasn’t all that thrilled with having his picture taken.” She rubbed at an imagined fleck on her slim pants.
    “Moscow is so unbelievably old world. The buildings, the streets… even with the more modern look, it’s just so beautiful and he seemed such a part of that world. Like an old-time fairy tale. He was actually standing right outside the gates of the Kremlin and he looked like a prince in front of a palace.”
    “You’re blushing,” Joley observed, leaning forward. “That must have been some first meeting.”
    “I’d never met anyone like him. He smiled at me as he came up to me and all I could think about was how it should be against the law to have his smile. I didn’t even notice when he took the camera out of my hand. He was dazzling.”
    Sarah exchanged a long look with Kate. “You sound like you fell in love with him, Abbey,” she ventured gently.
    Abigail blinked and sat back in her chair. “Who wouldn’t fall in love with him? He was charming and handsome and everything a man should be.”
    Joley leaned into her sister, laying her head back on her shoulder. “Why didn’t you ever tell us about Aleksandr?” She was very careful of her tone, not wanting to make Abigail feel guilty and not wanting to allow a “push” of magic into her voice.
    Abigail swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. “I just couldn’t. It hurt too much. I’m sorry about all of this, Joley. I know the one thing that makes you crazy is tight places. I had no idea anything would happen to make you have to go into an underwater cave. I would never, never willingly place you in danger.”
    Joley shrugged. “Seriously, it’s no big deal. I actually was rather proud of myself for conquering my fear enough to go through the rock to get to the mill. I love challenges and this one was very cool. I got to see you with that dolphin. That was so great, Abbey, that it would just come up to you like that and trust you to help it. It was amazing.” She smiled at her sister. “But it still doesn’t explain Aleksandr.”
    Abigail spread out her hands in a gesture of confusion. “There’s no way to explain Aleksandr. I just can’t even tell you what it was like. He offered to show me around and we walked through Red Square and visited the Cathedral of Vasily. All the while he talked about the history of the buildings. His voice, Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    his accent, all of it just added to his attraction. He knew so much about everything and he spoke with such pride. He loved his country every bit as much as I love mine. He made me feel like the most beautiful and important woman in the world. We laughed so much together, and he held my hand. That sounds so juvenile, but you know I didn’t really even date before. I was always so focused on my career and here I was, walking around this incredible city with a handsome, attentive man. I wanted to stay in his company forever.“
    “My Jefferson made me feel that way,” Carol said. “Of course you wanted to be with him.”
    “We spent the day together and then stayed up all night talking. It was like there was always so much more to say. I loved the sound of his voice. His smile, the way his eyes lit up when he looked at me.”
    Abigail blinked back tears. “In a million years, I never thought I’d ever feel that way about someone. He didn’t know anything at all about me. He didn’t know I was a Drake. That I had magic, that I had talented, beautiful sisters who all had made names for themselves in amazing ways. He saw me. Abigail.
    And it was enough.”
    There was a silence in the room. Abigail knew her sisters were empathic and they could feel the sudden pain knifing through her. Libby crossed her arms over her stomach and Elle huddled into a little ball.
    “You have to tell us, Abbey,” Sarah pressed. “What good does it do to hold it to yourself? We’ve all known you’ve been unhappy.